Means for terminating multiconductor high voltage cables



Feb. 5, 1935. c. A. JACQUES 1,989,930

MEANS FOR TERMINATING MULTICONDUCTOR HIGH VOLTAGE CABLES Filed NOV. 5, 1931 36 H. I v

BIZ/05 CV02 ce was, 6

Z fl g Patented Feb. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEANS FOR TERMINATING MULTICON- DUCTOR HIGH VOLTAGE CABLES Cloyce A. Jaques, Chicago, 111.

Application November .5, 1931, Serial No. 573,122

Claims. (01. 247-45) My invention relates to improvements in means at one side thereof to permit attachment to a pole for terminating multi-conductor, high voltage or other structure. The casting has a number of cables, particularly those containing paper insuopenings therein, the large opening being surlation. rounded by a depending flange 12 and the smaller 5 Overhead connections made heretofore from openings, of which there are four in this case, each 5 high voltage, insulated cables to the smaller cables being surrounded by a flange 13. The casting has or wires representing the several phases of a mula flange 14 at the periphery with a recess-therein tiphase circuit have involved the use of a potto receive the bottom of a cylindrical housing 15 head; i. e., a metal casing with a removable cover having a top 16.

and having porcelain bushings or petticoats and The lead sheathed cable 17 passes through the 10 a gasket of considerable extent between the casbase, a wiped joint 18 uniting the cable sheath to ing and its cover, to maintain a tight joint, as it the flange 12, thereby grounding the structure. is essential that water be prevented from reach- Within the housing the lead sheath and the belt ing the insulation. insulation are removed as shown, whereby said The objection to potheads is that they are exlead sheath projects only a short distance above 15 pensive. Furthermore, it is diflicult to maintain the base 10 and the belt insulation a short disa tight joint around an opening having an extance above the end of said sheath. In some types tended periphery and even a small leak in conof cable, the belt insulation is made of paper; nection with the expansion and'contraction of which material absorbs moisture readily. This 20 the parts, results in a condition whereby moisture property is inherent also in various other kinds 2b is drawn into the casing and affects the insulatof insulation used in cables, although to a lesser ing properties of the covering on the conductors. extent. Above the belt insulation, the conductors Also, since the conductors from the pothead to the are shown as diverging from each other, being line wires are insulated from the pot-head and Wrapped during installation with the usual var-' not grounded, there is serious danger of accident nished cambric or tape, beneath which is the to a workman on the pole, should he come in conoriginal insulation, which may be paper or other tact with one of said conductors at a point where material. In making the installation it will be the insulation has been damaged. understood that the housing 15 is not assembled The main object of my invention is to overon the base 10 until all the connections have been come these difliculties and to provide a generally made. In other words, the upper end of the cable improved construction. is exposed to view and in a position conveniently Contributory objects are, to provide a terminal accessible to the workman. The individual conjoint structure by which cables of a certain type ductors 19, of which there may be two, three or are grounded, thereby dispensing with the necesfour, (each consisting o a multiplicity of D- v 85 sity for expensiveporcelain bushings and greatly p W represent the Several phases of a reducing the hazard to workmen; to provide a u t -p high Voltage line, c in Dracstructure having a base through which all of the i y vary from about 2,000 Volts to 30.000 cables pass and a removable casing or enclosure volts. Instead of tap Said Conductors wi above said base whereby the cable ends are readily cambric 0 other Suitable tape, as Shown in accessible; to provide a structure of this charthey may be protected by fibre insulators as'hereacter in which no gasket is required andtin which inafter described.

contraction and expansion of the partt will-not The smaller cables or so-called single conducresult in drawing moisture into the casing. tor cables 20, of which there are four in this In the accompanying drawing wherein one eminstance, enter the base through the smaller open- I. bodiment of my invention is illustrated, ings referred to. These smaller cables, in this in- Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of the strucstance, have an outer, braided weatherproofed ture on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2; I covering of non-metallic material under which is Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1; a flexible metallic reinforcement. As shown in v Fig. 3 is a bottom view with the cables removed; Fig. 1, the outer covering is removed from that Fig. 4 is a bottom view of a modified form of portion of the cable within the housing, exposing 0 device; said metallic reinforcement 21 which in this case Fig. 5 is a top view of a spacer. is braided. Where the metal braid terminates, The structure, in the form selected for illustraadditional insulation is wrapped around the cable tlon, consists of a base '10, preferably in the form for a few inches and over this, additional metal of a casting of circular outline with a bracket 11 "braid is wrapped, preferably copper braid, as

shown at 22, after which said braid is covered with tape 23 to within a short distance of the base 10. The remaining exposed metal braid 21 just above the base issoldered to said base, in each case, at 24, thereby grounding all of said cables.

The upper ends of the cables have their insulation removed for several inches, thereby exposing the copper conductors 25, 25', which are held together by means of a clamp consisting, in the form illustrated, of a tapering metal sleeve 26 with a screw 27 passing therethrough which spreads the conductors and establishes good electrical contact, after which the upper part of said screw may be cut off as shown. Said screw clamp is then covered with tape 28 as shown in Fig. 1, the finished appearance being that of the left hand connection shown in said figure, the right hand connection being shown in section. Other types of connectors soldered or solderless may be used.

The four connectors thus formed are separated by a fibre spacer 29, as shown in Fig. 2, beneath which is wrapped additional tape 30 to hold it in position.

After the connections have been made in the manner described, the casing is mounted on the base flange 14 and held in place by a wiped joint 31.

A suitable compound is then poured in through the openings formed by the bosses 32 on the cover 16, said compound being poured in hot and completely filling all the available space. Said compound serves not only as an effective insulating medium but also maintains the spaced relation of said clamping members. The two upper openings are thereupon sealed by plugs 33 and solder 34.

With the construction shown, it is practically impossible for expansion and contraction to result in the drawing in of moisture, which would be absorbed by the wrapping around the conductors. The natural tendency of moisture to flow downwardly along the conductors is a further factor in the attainment of the desired result as all the cables enter or leave through the bottom of the housing and not through the top thereof, the latter being completely closed. Furthermore, any partial vacuum in the housing is substantially prevented by having it filled with insulating compound and even if a slight suction developed at the joints below the base, tending to draw moisture upwardly along the cables into the container, said moisture could not cause injury until the liquid had risen in the container above the level of the upper end of the lead sheath, assuming that there was no filling compound in said container. Since all the available space is completely filled by such compound, no water can collect therein and the various parts embedded in said compound are held in fixed rela:

,manent, although if it should become necessary by rapping it and then removing it, after softening the compound and the soldered joint 31.

In the modified construction shown in Fig. 4, the openings in the base are somewhat differently arranged, with the larger opening 35 in the center and a plurality of smaller openings 36 circumferentially arranged about the same and preferably spaced equidistant from each other. Each of these openings is surrounded by a flange 37 as in the first form described.

In making the connections with this type of device, the main cable enters through the central opening and the four conductors are defiected somewhat radially and united with the smaller cables in the manner previously described. While the clamps and the conductors leading thereto may be taped in this case also, the concentric arrangement lends itself readily to the use of a fibre insulator in the form of a cylinder 38 shown in Fig. 5 by the use of which much of the taping may be dispensed with. This fibre cylinder is slipped down over the conductors, be-' ing large enough to enclose all of them, after which a plurality of insulating spacers 39 are slipped down inside the cylinder 38 to separate the clamps from each other as shown. These insulating spacers are shorter than the cylindrical spacer, being slipped down until they make contact with the inclined conductors, their tops being preferably flush with the top of the cylindrical spacer.

I claim:

1. A joint for a multi-conductor high voltage cable, comprising a base having openings therein, a casing closed at its upper end and having its lower end engaging said base, a metal sheathed cable passing up through one of said openings and having its metal sheath integrally united to said base, and additional cables, with non-metallic sheaths, passing up through the remaining openings in said base, each cable having a metal reinforcement beneath said non-metallic sheath, exposed within said casing and integrally united to said base, whereby said additional cables are grounded through said base and said metal sheath, the conductors of said additional cables and of said other cable extending beyond the insulation thereof in an upwardly direction in contact with each other in groups, a clamp surrounding the ends of each group, and means for holding said clamps in spaced relation.

2. A cable joint housing, comprising a circular base having a large opening at one side thereof and a series of smaller openings spaced substantially equidistant from each other and from said first opening along the arc of a circle, each of said openings being surrounded by a fiange,"a flange on said base having a seat thereon, a cylindrical casing fitting said seat to form a tight joint therewith, a top for said casing having an opening therein surrounded by a flange, and a screwthreaded plug closing said opening.

3. A cable joint comprising a base plate having an opening for a metal sheathed cable and a series of smaller openings, a dependingflange around the first mentioned and larger opening with which the sheath of said cable is integrally united, additional'cables passing upwardly through said smaller openings with non-metallic coverings which terminate below said base, flexible metallic reinforcements normally beneath said coverings but exposed within said housing and integrally united to saidbase, the conductors of said first cable and said additional cables extending upwardly in contact with each other in groups,

means for holding the conductors of each group in close mechanical and electrical contact, and insulating material separating each of said groups from the other and from the wall of said housing.

4. A joint for a multi-conductor high voltage cable, comprising a base having openings therein, a casing closed at its upper end and having its lower end resting on said base, a metal sheathed cable passing up through one of said openings and having its metal sheath integrally united to said base, and additional cables with non-metallic sheaths passing up. through the remaining openings in said base, each having a metal reinforcement beneath said non-metallic sheath, exposed within said casing and integrally united to said base, whereby said additional cables are grounded through said base and said metal sheath, the conductors of said additional cables and the conductors of said metal sheathed cable extending upwardly in exposed relation andclamped together in groups near the top of said casing, and insulating spacing members adapted to be slipped down over said groups when said casing is removed, to insulate said groups of conductors from each other.

5. In a cable joint structure, a horizontal base having openings therein, a casing fitting said base and removable upwardly, cables passing upwardly through said openings in parallel relation, certain of said cables being deflected laterally within said casing to permit the conductors thereof to engage other conductors in groups in the upper part of said casing, means for confining the conductors of each group, and insulating partitions surrounding each group and applicable thereto from above the same, said partitions being supported by said laterally deflected portions of said cables.

CLOYCE A. JAQUES. 

